Software

 

GMG, a leading developer and supplier of high-end colour management software solutions, and Four Pees, exclusive worldwide distributor of the PrintFactory software suite, have announced the launch of the PrintFactory GMG Edition, an integrated solution combining PrintFactory and the GMG colour management solutions GMG ColorServer and GMG SmartProfiler, at Fespa Digital from 24-27 May in Hamburg, Germany.

PrintFactory GMG Edition bundles the PrintFactory suite for banner, sign and super wide format printing with GMG ColorServer and GMG SmartProfiler to speed up file handling and preparation and to achieve superb colour results. PrintFactory GMG Edition offers a unified production platform to drive all large format production in the most efficient and consistent way.

PrintFactory GMG Edition is the most complete production solution for large format printing. It can print jobs as they are being processed, driving more than 600 different printing, cutting and CTS devices. It has a unique, built-in preflight engine, which makes it possible to check each file that is opened against a set of job specific parameters. If a mistake is detected, PrintFactory GMG Edition allows editing or correcting virtually any object element in the job. PrintFactory GMG Edition also provides a dedicated LFP job preparation environment, making it possible to easily add folds, seams and tunnels, define die cut lines and create tiles and grommets. For recurring jobs, smart templates make the preparation even faster.

Through the integration of the GMG ColorServer colour management software and the GMG SmartProfiler profiling and calibration tool, PrintFactory GMG Edition not only increases productivity and operator flexibility, it also provides for consistent colours and highest production reliability. GMG ColorServer processes any kind of colour conversions, fully automatically, in order to obtain uniform colour standards. GMG SmartProfiler is the user-friendly solution for creating GMG ColorServer colour profiles and printer calibrations for Large Format Printing systems. Thus, GMG ColorServer and GMG SmartProfiler ensure cross-media consistency while maintaining the same colour and print quality.

GMG FlowConnect is the link between the colour management solution GMG ColorServer/SmartProfiler and the PrintFactory workflow, enabling complete seamless integration. The GMG FlowConnect technology enables job ticket-controlled, automatic and flexible handling of jobs. The status of all jobs can be tracked completely in PrintFactory. Once installed, the GMG colour management runs fully automatically in the background. This results in less training as the operators can still work with their familiar PrintFactory environment, and less manual, error-prone work as all colour management tasks are automated.

PrintFactory GMG Edition not only helps users to achieve consistency in colours, but also highest repeatability, either in production environments where several output devices of an identical or similar type are installed, or in so-called hybrid environments, typically operating with large format and offset presses. Users and their customers in the large format printing sectors increasingly expect high colour accuracy and colours that match those of print media produced by conventional printing processes, such as offset. Consequently, GMG ColorServer automatically converts print data to the corresponding output colour space, using ISO Coated V2 as reference standard and thus enabling a visual match with offset in large format industrial print production.

The PrintFactory GMG Edition is available in two customised versions. The first, for Print Shops, is certainly a valuable solution for all kinds of businesses engaged in inkjet-based large format production of indoor communication such as banners, point-of-sales material, displays and small vehicle wrapping. The PrintFactory GMG Edition for Industrial LFP suits in very large format production environments with different printing processes in use producing indoor and outdoor communication such as billboards, point-of-sales material and large vehicle wraps.

Visitors of this year's Fespa Digital can find out more about the GMG/Four Pees integrated solution at the seminar covering subjects such as file preparation, production automation and standardisation in large format printing. The seminar will be held at hall A4 in room A4.2 on May 25 from 10.30 to 12.30. Interested persons can register at http://www.fourpees.com/events/four-pees-and-gmg-seminar/registration.

The PrintFactory GMG Edition will be demonstrated at the PrintFactory booth C66 in Hall A4.

For GMG, a leading developer and supplier of high-end colour management software solutions, the focus at this year’s FESPA Digital in Hamburg will be on the company’s colour management solutions for the large-format printing sector.

Consequently, GMG will be represented at the exhibition booths of Four Pees (Hall A4, Booth C66), HP (Hall A4, Booth C40/41), KIP Deutschland (Hall A3, Booth C60), and Neolt (Hall A3, Booth A50).

The GMG ColorServer and GMG SmartProfiler colour management solutions assist companies in the large-format printing sector in their efforts to meet the growing demands imposed on colour quality and consistency. One of the challenges in this context is to achieve identical colour results on multiple output devices or in mixed production environments, where offset and digital or large-format printing can be encountered together. In these cases, the printed end products are intended to look exactly the same, regardless of which printing process is used.

So that colours have an identical appearance in different printing processes, GMG ColorServer automatically converts the data to the corresponding output colour space. GMG SmartProfiler is used to create the necessary colour profiles and printer calibrations for different output systems. ISO Coated V2 usually serves as the reference standard.

At the HP booth, GMG will be presenting a GMG ColorServer Suite for HP Scitex printers that is tailored specifically to the needs of HP Scitex users. The software package includes the GMG ColorServer/ SmartProfiler colour management solutions, preconfigured hotfolders, and colour profiles for instant use. This permits maximum repeatability in production, and consistent colour results on any printing system and almost any substrate.

In addition, visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to gather information regarding further possible applications for GMG’s software-based colour management in combination with a wide variety of digital large-format system solutions. For example, the exhibitors Four Pees, KIP Deutschland, and Neolt will be presenting a wide range of integration options for GMG ColorServer and GMG SmartProfiler. The solutions offer convincing versatility, flexibility and, on the bottom line, outstanding colour quality.

Four Pees, exclusive worldwide distributor of the PrintFactory software suite will offer PrintFactory Go as a stand-alone preproduction and job preparation application. Usable with any RIP technology, PrintFactory Go brings immediate benefits in efficiency for the creation of complex or repetitive large format production workflows.

PrintFactory Go offers the same job preparation and last minute correction tools the PrintFactory suite has to offer, in an easy-to-use stand-alone application. Whether you need to combine and correct multiple jobs, make edits on colour, masks, shapes, scaling, rotation, mirroring, create tiles or place grommets… PrintFactory Go puts all of the tools at your fingertips. Targeted specifically at digital large format print users, it offers a comprehensive collection of pre-production tools saving time and reducing error and waste.

Streamline job creation and preparation time

PrintFactory Go streamlines every step in the workflow. Customised output folders help creating the perfect print-to-cut production workflow. One interface drives all printing and cutting devices and all information – no matter how complex – is stored in one single job.

Check and Correct

PrintFactory Go’s unique preflight engine checks every opened file against a set of job specific parameters such as colour spaces, font embedding or overprint settings. Image or font size checks have been specifically adapted to the needs of an LFP environment; checking happens on viewing distances rather than on resolution of point sizes. PrintFactory Go’s soft proofing capabilities and preflight features allow previewing colour and content correctly, catching errors and problems as early as possible.

PrintFactory Go enables editing or correcting virtually any object in the job, whether it is a colour correction on an image or an illustration, a last minute text edit or even adding a completely new content.

Prepare and Print

The native PDF engine built into PrintFactory Go correctly handles any PDF file, regardless of where it was created. It is no longer needed to open different applications for different files.

PrintFactory Go offers a dedicated LFP job preparation environment. You can easily add folds, seams and tunnels, define white ink or varnish, define die cut lines, create tiles and place grommets. The powerful templates functionality makes preparation of recurring jobs a breeze.

PrintFactory Go offers normalised, colour-managed, predictable output according to industry standards and with the same colour result over different devices; its output works with all RIP solutions.

The features and benefits of this new release can be experienced live at the PrintFactory booth in hall A4, stand C66 from 24 to 27 May at Fespa Digital in Hamburg, Germany.

Nature's colours are the focus of new Claro v8, announced today by Elpical Managing Director John de Jong.  Sky blues, grass greens and skin-tones can be made to look much closer to reality than ever before in an automated image correction and optimisation solution. Another important development in this major upgrade is the availability of Claro Settings Assistant, which equips anyone to start using the software immediately.
 
All products in the Claro family are updated to version 8, and available for customer download -- along with Claro Settings Assistant -- immediately.
 
"Concepts such as 'natural'  and 'automation' are very far apart. In Claro, however, we've engineered a way to identify and optimise naturally-occurring greens, blues, and skintones; to achieve true-to-life imagery in an automated solution," says de Jong. "Claro has moved the bar."
 
Claro Settings Assistant, Green Tone Adjustments
 
Claro image optimisation and automated workflow solutions for publishers and large enterprises are in use all over the world; at publishing houses, ad agencies, and commercial and transactional production companies. Worldwide brands using Claro include Meredith Corp., Modern Luxury Media, Sanoma Magazines, BBC and USA Today.
 
How Claro Works

Claro employs its Individual Image Analysis to rapidly analyse a range of parameters on each of the thousands of images it processes, and then modifies individual images for highest-quality and publication-centric results.
 
Operators always have the option to review side-by-side comparisons of originals and Claro-optimised images, and make manual edits if desired, using Claro Inspector for Photoshop.

Claro Settings Assistant, drag and drop interface
 
With the new Claro Settings Assistant, the operator can further customize their specific image optimisation needs without the immediate and direct need for hands-on, expert setup.  Settings can be tested in a desktop environment and exported back to the production server.
 
Also topping the list of new functions in Claro 8 are 1. an optional brightness correction curve that better preserves contrast in images;  2. "contrast in luminosity" mode, which isolates contrast manipulation and therefore protects color and hue integrity; and 3. red-eye reduction.
 
The Claro Product Family
 
The Claro Premedia solution, which integrates with editorial and production systems available all over the world, also automates other image processing tasks such as intelligent file format and colour conversions. Claro Premedia offers a complete, client-server based image optimisation workflow combining productivity benefits of a server solution with the discerning visual capabilities of the human eye.
 
Claro Single gives printers and publishers true server solutions offering 100% hands-off image optimization. As an integration module, Claro Single is easy to plugin to automation solutions such as Enfocus Switch or PuzzleFlow.
 

Wasatch SoftRIP 6.8 features a new Separations mode in SoftRIP SP that automatically detects the correct spot colour and process separations to produce for incoming jobs; enhanced support for dye sublimation and textile printing; enhanced support of custom inksets for most popular printers; improved handling of PDF files that involve transparency; a new Hindi user interface; and support for multiple new Chinese printers that have completed our quality assurance process.

New Separations Mode

Version 6.8 of Wasatch SoftRIP SP offers new power for the production of separation films and for direct-to-screen and direct-to-plate systems. When operating in the new Separations mode, SoftRIP SP will automatically detect the correct separations to produce for incoming jobs, whether files are opened by a user in the RIP or printed directly from application software, with no user interaction.

If the job contains only two or three spot colours, only two or three separations will be produced. If the job contains a combination of process and spot colours, the appropriate number of separations will automatically be produced. Users can select from stochastic, rosette, and hybrid screening methods to customise a workflow for nearly any separations production process.

Press & Calibration Curves

Press Curves and Calibration Curves are now available in all editions of Wasatch SoftRIP 6.8, not just in the SP Edition, as was previously the case. This makes it much easier for users to construct colour profiles for processes that suffer from extreme dot gain, such as dye sublimation and digital textile printing. It also helps maximise the benefit of our 16-bit rendering pipeline.

Enhanced Custom Inkset Support

This release improves support of custom inksets for most popular printers. One of SoftRIP's key tools for adapting inkjet printers for dye sublimation use is our custom inkset creator that allows users to configure SoftRIP with custom Hi-Fi inksets.

In past versions, users needed an instrument to help produce CIE XYZ data in the inkset creator window. For many configurations, this was an unnecessary obstacle because those numbers are only used for the screen display. In Wasatch SoftRIP Version 6.8, the inkset creator allows users to enter colours quickly and easily with our colour selector tool. This process is much more convenient for users who need to configure custom inksets.

Improved PDF Transparency Handling

Wasatch SoftRIP Version 6.8 includes dramatic improvements to the handling of PDF files that involve transparency. This update fixes the great majority of such problem files we have seen and supports the latest colour and transparency rendering.

New Hindi User Interface

Our new Hindi user interface expands the total number of user interface languages to 27, making Wasatch SoftRIP one of the most widely globalised software products available.

New Support for Chinese Printers

Wasatch SoftRIP Version 6.8 is our biggest release ever of new support for Chinese printers that have completed our required quality assurance process. Version 6.8 includes support for products from Gongzheng, Micolor, A-Starjet, and Galaxy.

Wasatch SoftRIP is available in the UK and Europe from Tech8

On the Wednesday evening of 2011’s Sign & Digital UK exhibition, many of the industry’s leading companies and commentators assembled for the inaugural Sign & Digital UK Awards ceremony at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

The category list was ten strong and the winners were decided by a panel of judges from the sign making and digital print media including Brendan Perring (Sign Link), Morwenna Kearns (Output), Abi Ricketts (Large Format Review) and Martin Hinchliffe (Sign Update).

Congratulations were in order for three Clarity Software customers who beat off a very strong field to secure victories, along with some well-deserved recognition from their peers for their outstanding contribution to the industry.

Best Wide Format Printing Company: Hollywood Monster

In 2009, Monster Digital and Hollywood Signs merged to create Hollywood Monster Ltd, which has gone on from strength to strength and is now recognised as one of the most dynamic sign and display manufacturers.

Short listed against Carrick Signs, Hollywood Monster secured the victory from an impressed panel of judges, with their ‘epic’ scale projects such as a 600sqm mesh banner for Chelsea FC’s training ground proving influential in the decision.

Hollywood Monster implemented Clarity shortly after completing the merger and has testified to its contribution to their success over the last two years, with the software helping them grow their business efficiently and confidently.

“We needed a business-wide solution that would work for everyone in the new company, one that all our employees could adopt and use effortlessly to perform their digital print or sign making tasks,” Managing Director Tim Andrews enthused.

Best Sign Company: Signbox

Signbox, a Clarity user since August 2007, specialises in architectural signs and displays to the commercial market, boasting an impressive customer list including Motorola, Deloitte and Tower 42, the tallest building in London.

Sign 2000 provided stiff competition for Signbox, but the Egham based company emerged victorious, with historic projects such as the complex installation of Northern Trust’s elevated sign installation at Canary Wharf contributing to their winning credentials.

Best Textile Printing Project: The Wild Group

One of the most talked about winners this year was The Wild Group, who took the Best Textile Printing Project from under the noses of The Jericho Foundation and Ink Media Solutions.

Having installed Clarity in February 2009, The Wild Group is a renowned manufacturer of yacht and boat sails, with previous commissions including the sole supply of hull and brand sails for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Their winning project was for Twentieth Century Fox, producing a set of printed boat sails for the promotion of their hit movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Congratulations To All Winners

Clarity Software would like to send their congratulations to all the companies who won awards at the event, including Vision Visual Solutions, Photocast Products, Raccoon, Service Graphics, Icon and Gordon Dick (Aggregate Industries).

Last but not least and nominated twice on the night is Sign 2000, who were not to be disappointed as they left the show clutching The Green Award.